And I'm reminded of this meme. So here we go.
Yes, I change my mind. On a regular basis. I used to worry about it, now I don't give a tinkers. Infact, I'd go as far as saying that if you aren't changing, then something is wrong.
The world is changing faster than ever and we have to change with it. It's exhausting. Sometimes you feel you have the hang of it. Sometimes it feels like everything is just around the corner, then another corner appears. Ouch.
We can say some principles never change, and to some extent I feel that is true. However, sometimes, we gotta think differently, be brave and try to be audacious.
I spent years behind the scenes. Putting others first. Telling myself that thing over there is not my place. That's not me. I'm not built for that. Community is about putting others first. Facilitating. Putting others in the limelight.
And then I realised it wasn't enough. Yes, community is 100% giving voice to people, but it doesn't have to be through facilitation and it doesn't have to be about forcing words out of them in situations they just don't want, or perhaps don't have time for.. Sometimes we have to step up to be that voice. To tell their stories. To invite them into influential circles. To build a reputation, or an audience, not for our own sake, but to help serve them.
I've partly surprised myself by doing it. By stepping up and becoming more centre stage. It's felt very uncomfortable. What would people think? Is this what community is? I've always said I didn't want that, what will people think if I've now changed my stance?
And of course, am I really up for this? Can I hold the conversations? Can I lead a podcast? Can I get up on stage? I wasn't really doing this stuff before, but deep inside I knew I had to do it.
The only regret I have is not doing it sooner. It's been amazing for relationship building. It's been amazing for forcing me to do the research, not only the prep, but having the actual conversations. (I see conversations are research, fwiw).
But all of these things have also really helped lift up the community too. I've invited the people onto the podcast. A bigger audience, benefits the visibility of the community, and the people who participate. The research we do helps us develop our product better.
And of course, any growth, revenue, etc...it all helps us keep serving the community.
The reality, is creating a stage, helps build community...if we do it with the people in mind. The problem is that most of the time, this isn't what actually happens.
We get stuck on ideas like, a community isn't an audience, but let's be real...it very much can be.
We get stuck on social media is not community, but let's be real, we can uplift people through social media...it's just another communication channel...like a forum, like an email list.
And I get it. Partly, we feel this way because audiences get abused. As soon as real success shows up, the people get forgotten. Or simply, a big part of the community gets forgotten. Or they were never truly represented in the first place.
I still feel a broken heart when I see all these people building incredible audiences but not truly investing back into the community. It hurts. It could be so much better.
If anything, I feel like the more we can double down on audiences that benefit community, the stronger community as an industry can potentially become. An audience can be part of community strategy. It is not evil. It doesn't have to be separate.
It's ok for us to lead publicly. The reality, if you give people a stage, with a podcast interview or a conference talk, for example, that connects them to so many other people, whilst building their own internal self. It's so much more powerful than a forum post (and that's not having a dig at forums, they are valuable and they have their place).
As community people we under sell ourselves. We got this. We can talk with care, be influential with a community mindset. In a sense, I'm a headliner, not for myself, but for the benefit of the community. It's a valid way to achieve our community goals and it brings a new sense of depth.
Really, what this comes down to is not seeing the "an audience" as a dirty community word. It is not. And with an audience we can build community. You know it. Deep in your heart. Communities can bring great change. Audiences can contribute to it, they can be part of the community flywheel strategy.
The more we do this, the more community will be taken seriously. Change your mind, it's ok. 😄
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